September 2011 - June 2012

September

Welcome back to all our pupils and a very warm welcome to our new junior infants and to those who joined other classes further up the school. Our year began on Thursday Sept 1st and the new infants quickly settled into school life.

Junior infants on their first day at school:

Our beginning of year school Mass was celebrated in our local church by Fr. Benny Mc. Hale on Friday 23rd.
We had a Park and Stride day on 22nd to celebrate European Mobility Week. The Green School Committee encouraged everyone to wear high visibility vests while walking to school.
The girls in fourth and fifth class visited to Sea2Sky in Galway. They enjoyed 3D tours of the galaxy, toured Atlantquaria, and explored the night sky. They also found out about climate change, whales and dolphins. They chatted to scientists about their research and participated in experiments.

Parents were invited to attend a talk on Dyslexia given by Deirdre Mc Guinness from the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. We are grateful to the Parents Council for organising this informative talk.
Photographs of our new infants were taken by Gerry Ahern for publication in the latest edition of the "Athenry News and Views."
Sixth class have becun their work on the Students Council. Well done to the Ana Beatriz, Anna and Imy, the council's newly elected chariperson, vice-chairman and secretary.
Art Attack classes are being held after school for children form 1st to 3rd class. Michael Herbert, assisted by Miss Donohoe, will coach our camogie players every week.
Twenty two athletes from Scoil Chroí Naofa took part in the Galway School cross country running in Renmore.

Our energetic athletes

October

by Anna and Ríbh in 6th class

Cash for Clobber:
On the 27th of November our school had yet another Cash for Clobber. It was a great success as we collected 100 bags and we will receive €400 from the Cash for Clobber scheme. We would like to thank all the parents who brought in a bag.

Prayer Service:
Our school had a prayer service on the First Friday of October celebrating God's world and nature. All the classes participated by either singing a song or saying a prayer.

World Map:
Mrs. Neylon and the SNAs made a world map showing all the countries where children that attend this school come from. This is on display in the hall for everyone to see.

Internet Safety:
The parents council organised a session on internet safety for parents. This took place on the 19th of October at 7:30. The topics included what children do online, facebook and general awareness tips.

Our School Band:
The school band started back in October. We have already learned three tunes and are preparing for the lighting of the Christmas tree on the 4th of December.

Gaelgóirí:
A pupil from each classroom was awarded a prize for their use of our native language during October

Credit Union Poster Competition:
All the classes are participating in the Credit Union poster competition this year and there will be results after the November break.

Open Night (Presentation College Athenry)
On the 27th of October sixth class visited the Presentation college for the annual open night. The night included a talk on why you should enroll in this school, a tour and refreshments afterwards. A very enjoyable night was had by all.

We had fun dressing up for Hallowe'en!

November

by Áine and Áine in 6th class

Preparation for Christmas Band Performance:
Paul Miller came to the school on the 30th of November to coach the drummers, accordions, bell lyre and melodica players in the lead up to the band performance at the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Athenry. The band come together daily during the month of December to practice. The children are putting a lot of hard work into the performance.

Whole school evaluation:
Three inspectors visited our school for a whole school evaluation during the month of November. Children in 4th and 6th class got questionnaires to fill in about school life. The inspectors asked the children questions and visited all the classrooms.

Table Quiz:
children from 3rd to 6th class are attending table quiz practice with Mrs. Hallissey on Wednesdays. Teams were selected according to attendance, effort, commitment and knowledge of particular areas.

Gaelgóirí:
The following pupils pupil were awarded a prize for their use of our native language during November:

Open Night
6th class pupils were invited to the open night in the vocational school on the 8th of November at 7pm.

Credit Union competition
Congratulations to the following people who won prizes in the Credit Union poster competition which runs every year: Ariana, Eniola, Mary, Maya and Therese.

Cash for Clobber
Children in the school brought in bags of unwanted clothing and other items during November. We will receive a cheque for €600.

Confirmation Programme
6th class attended several Confirmation masses and will attend more in the lead up to Confirmation in February 2012. The latest mass was on the 12th of November and the next will be on the 10th of December

Science Week
This year the theme for science week was the chemistry of life. Some Ph D students from N.U.I.G came to 6th class and also to first and second class and did a workshop.
They showed us liquid nitrogen in a metal container. When they placed a branch of leaves into the liquid nitrogen for a moment, it froze. When we hit the leaves they crumbled to pieces. We did the same with a balloon and it deflated. They also made green goo with us.

December

On Saturday Dec 10th some children from our school helped the Athenry Tidy Towns group to plant trees at the Baunmore roundabout. They wore high visibility jackets and despite the rain and cold conditions had a most enjoyable experience.
Later that day the band from Scoil Chroi Naofa Athenry played at the lighting of the Christmas tree ceremony. The 130 girls from third to sixth class had been busy rehearsing for this occasion and all the hard work paid off. Despite the rain, they shone as brightly as the Christmas lights as they played tunes from their repertoire and sang Christmas carols. The children played drums, cymbals, bell lyres, melodicas, tin whistles and accordions. The flag bearers and majorettes were a most colourful sight as they performed. Congratulations to them all and to their teachers.

You can see more band photographs on our music page

The same musical girls sang at the annual community carol service in the local church on Sunday 18th.
On Dec 8th the four senior classes visited the Presentation college to see the secondary school's wonderful production "The Little House of Horrors."

The girls from 6th class treated the rest of school to an animated Christmas story:

Christmas story narrators:

There was great excitement when Santa visited our school on Wednesday 21st. He said that the children in our school have been very good all year and he is looking forward to Christmas!.

Listening carefully to Santa:

Mrs. Joyce presented certificates to the pupils who have not missed any days from school since September:

We wish you all a very happy Christmas!

January

by Mr. McDonald

Scoil Chroí Naofa welcomed in 2012 by returning to school on the 9th of January after the Christmas holidays.
A new Board of Management has been appointed in the school and they held their first meeting on the 18th of January.
6th class girls who will be making their Confirmation will be participating in the "You shall be my witness" programme. This programme runs throughout the months of January and February. The girls will also be attending a retreat in Esker in February. They will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation on the 25th of February in Athenry church.
The children who are making their First Holy Communion are continuing to take part in the Communion Parish programme. First Confession will take place on March 6th while First Communion will take place on May 27th.
Mrs. Monson has succeeded Ms. Burns as Green school co-ordinator. Cash for Clobber collection took place on the 25th of January. 150 bags were collected throughout the school and this raised €900. A big thank you to all those who helped raise these much needed funds.

Gaelgoirí:
The following pupils pupil were awarded a prize for their use of Irish during January:

K'nex:
5th and 6th class are taking part in the Medtronic K'nex challenge this year. Brendan Smith, co-ordinator of the Medtronic Schools programme came to the school to get us started and set us up. He also told us about science, the moon, satellites, space shuttles and about Medtronic. We then got half an hour to make a K'nex aeroplane by following a diagram.
We'll continue to practice K'nex until a K'nex challenge will be held in the Radisson hotel, Galway in June 2012 to see which team can build the most impressive K'nex object, with a moving part, within the time limits.
There will be 28 teams from 14 schools around the Galway area competing. There will be two teams selected to represent our school and we will have an in-school competition between 5th and 6th class to see which two teams will go. The teams require a name and a logo so our teacher is holding a competition to see which girl comes up with the winning logo and name! Watch this space!!
Anna 6th class

February

by Ms. Hennessy

Mrs. Monson and the Green School committee organised Park and Stride on Wednesday the 8th of February. Despite the rainy morning, children were seen walking to school in their high-visibility vests and armbands. They also told us all about biodiversity:

In preparation for making their Confirmation, the sixth class girls and Mrs. Cronin attended a retreat in Esker on Friday the 10th of February. They had a very enjoyable day.
Lots of children from our school took part in different categories of the Athenry Community Games competition. The following children were awarded prizes: Ana Beatriz, Anna, Eva, Máire, Hugh, Jason and Sarah. congratulations to all the children who took part and indeed to those who received prizes.

We celebrated Grandparents Day by inviting grandparents to come into our classrooms and talk about their schooldays. The children were fascinated to hear ofschooldays "long ago!" The day was enjoyed by all.

Mrs Hallissey and her quiz teams were in action this month. Well done to both our junior and senior teams who did very well in the Credit Union table quiz in the Raheen Woods hotel.

On Saturday the 25th of February the 6th class girls received the sacrament of Confirmation at a special ceremony in Athenry church. The girls and their families were blessed with a lovely sunny afternoon. Well done to Mrs. Cronin and the girls for all the preperation they put into the special day.

Gaelgóirí na miosa:

Wednesday the 29th of February was a sad day for Scoil Chroí Naofa. It marked the end of an era as two of our long-serving and much-loved members of staff, Mrs. Donohoe and Mrs. Joyce bid us farewell to enjoy a much deserved retirement. The staff and children celebrated their committed careers by having a fun day. The children had a no uniform day and the whole school joined in a party and disco in the hall. We thank them both for their incredible contribution to Scoil Chroí Naofa and wish them health and happiness in the future.

March

by Ms. Monaghan

March has been a great month for our quiz teams.They attended Trá na gCeist in Loughrea and won second prize. They also qualified for the next round in the County final of Scór na bpáistí as did Lauren for her singing and Anna who did a recitation. Congratulations girls!

On the 14th of March we had a Park and Stride day. The school community was encouraged by the Green School committee to walk all or part of the way to school. Well done to everyone who got involved.
The Medieval town band did a great job on St. Patrick's Day leading the parade through the streets of Athenry. 130 girls from 2nd to 6th class participated in the parade and did the school proud with their wonderful performance.

You can see more band photographs on our music page

On Friday the 16th of March we had our annual Siamsa. Every class in the school put on a performance in Irish to celebrate our native language.

Miss Murray, Miss Doyle and Miss Sheridan also got on stage to play some traditional Irish music. It was a great day and everyone had a lot of fun!
Mrs. Monson and the Green School committee have been working very hard for our 5th Green Flag. The theme of this flag is biodiversity and there were many activities on this theme over the last few weeks.
There was an exhibition in the hall showing all the work done by all the different classes from the green school programme.
There was a name the scarecrow competition. The winning name created by Ríbh was Spud
We also had an assembly where each class presented a song or poem on the theme of biodiversity.
We had a biodiversity fancy dress competition which was great fun! Well done to everyone who put so much effort into creating such imaginative costumes.

Winners in the fancy dress competition:

The following children have not been absent from school any day since September:

Gaelgóirí na míosa:These pupils were awarded a prize for their use of Irish during March:

April News

by Emma and Maria, 4th class

Hello, this is our April news. Congratulations to Thérèse who was awarded a certificate for her participation in the county Galway ESB/INTO handwriting competition. Congratulations also to Abigail who was awarded a certificate for her picture in the Texaco art competition.
Well done to Anna who won first prize in the county finals of Scór na nÓg for her recitation. Well done to the others who reached the final -  to the quiz team coached by Mrs. Hallissey and to Lauren whose beautiful singing qualified earned her a place. The pupils were delighted to hear that Thérèse's bowling earned her first prize in the Connacht area of the special Olympics.

Our Prizewinners:

Certificates were awarded to the following pupils who have not missed a day from school between Christmas and Easter:

Athenry tidy towns committee awarded certificates for those who helped to plant trees around Athenry

The girls in second class are preparing for their First Holy Communion. Michael Helbert, GAA committee coach, will be coaching all the children in 3rd class for the next few weeks. Mr. Wallace coached the camogie team for the Cumann na mBunscoil 9 - a -side blitz . The camogie team played their hearts out. They lost the first match, won the second match and lost the last match. They did well. Transition year students will be coaching 1st class students in Mrs. Monson's and Mr. McDonald's classes.
Children in 3rd and 5th class will be attending swimming lessons in the Raheen Woods hotel next month.

May

by Ms. Monson

May was a very busy month for Scoil Chroí Naofa. We had our third Cash for Clobber and again it was very successful raising €780.
Community games took place in May where we won first place with our senior relay team, our junior A team came second while our junior B team came 3rd. Well done girls.

Our relay teams:

Swimming lessons took place in the Raheen Woods hotel in Athenry during the month for children in 3rd and 5th class. The girls made great progress in the water during the week of lessons and certainly got lots of exercise as they travelled by environmentally friendly walking bus:

First class and Mrs. Monson's 1st and 2nd class got our biodiversity flag. This is our 6th flag. Two girls from 5th class travelled to Athlone to collect our flag on behalf of the school. They had a great day.

Mrs. Monson's class told the pupils about our Park and Stride days:

Mrs. Monson's and Mrs. Broderick's 2nd class made their First Holy Communion on the 27th of May. They had a fantastic day. All the girls looked beautiful and the sun shone on them.

June

There was great excitement in Scoil Chroí Naofa as the winning ticket holders in our Monster May raffle were announced.

Our sports day was held on a lovely sunny day and was a great success:

This was the month for school tours where each class had a wonderful day out.

Scoil Chroí Naofa on tour:

The student council proposed that the school hold an X Factor competition. Auditions were held in each classroom with 3 acts form each class reaching the final. It was a wonderful display of dancing, singing and acting skills. The judges had a difficult task in choosing the winners

The X Factor winners:

Well done to Áine, Maya, Orla and Sophie who represented the school at the Medtronic K'nex championship in Galway.
Scoil Chroi Naofa's annual table quiz had an exciting finish this year with three teams tying for first place. It took an extra three rounds to decide the winning order. Well done to Mr. Wallace, Mrs. Hallissey, and Mrs. Scully who organised the quiz.

Mr. Mc Donald brought his basketball team to a blitz in Claregalway:

The girls from 4th, 5th and 6th class enjoyed the foorball blitz organised by the Gardaí.

One of our football teams:

There was great excitement when a garda car and fire engine arrived in our school yard. Thanks to the local gardaí and fire services for their most interesting visit which the children loved!

Mr. Wallace selected children to go to the Cumann na mBunscoil city sports:

The student council organised a bake sale to raise funds for the Make a Wish Foundation. Their baking was enjoyed by all and they raised €450. Well done girls!

Fr. King celebrated the graduation mass. The boys in first class and the girls in sixth class were presented with certificates. We all wish them well in their new schools.
We hope you all have a happy, healthy Summer and that the sun shines. A big thank you to all who contributed to our school website this year.